PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $64 - New York symbol PG

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $64 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $172.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) rose 5% after activist investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management announced that it now owns around 1% of Procter’s shares.

Pershing Square has a long history of making undervalued companies more profitable. It often does this by encouraging management to sell real estate or underperforming divisions.

Rising fuel and raw-material costs have hurt Procter’s profit margins. In response, the company recently announced a major restructuring plan, including cutting jobs and spending less on advertising. Pershing Square’s involvement should continue to spur the stock.

Procter & Gamble is a buy.

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.